Discovery
by An Unoriginal Alias
Summary: What began as an exciting day for new trainer Jenny turns into a battle against one of the most powerful forces in her corner of the Pokemon world...An adventure where she'll learn about her mysterious parents' pasts, and her own future as well....
1. Chapter 1

It was nearly noon when the trio walked into Viridian City, the aptly named "Eternally Green Paradise." Sunlight reflected off the tiled green roofs of the residential district, and gave warmth and nourishment to the thousands of flowers planted around the city, along with the large, shady trees in the park at the center of the city. The park was a welcome recent addition, funded by an anonymous donor and build by volunteers. Instead of going into town, however, this group merely turned left on the first street, heading to their home in the small residential district of the city.

The trio consisted of a young girl - 10 years old, to be exact - and two pokemon, only one of which was hers. The girl was pretty much average as far as height goes, but was just a tiny bit skinnier than normal. She had more of a diminishing sunburn than a tan, for she hadn't really gone outside for long periods before three days ago. Her hair was just a bit strange in color, being what everyone called a firetruck red, but it was straight and went to her shoulders, and she liked it. Right now she only had on a loose light blue t-shirt, jeans with a few more grass stains than before, and white tennis shoes she thought had obtained a small annoying rock sometime while she was walking. Back home she had a dark denim satchel her mother had bought for her for traveling, and that was the main reason for this little side stop. She also had a small black collar that would fit around the neck of her new Bulbasaur, who was happily trotting to her right, glad to be free of the confining pokeball. To her left was a Meowth, which was currently walking on all fours but preferred biped movement at home. She had known the Meowth her entire life, and was recently told that he had known her parents long before they were married. Frankly, Jenny was surprised the little guy hadn't kneeled over yet from the recent trip to Pallet Town they made to obtain Venus the Bulbasaur.

Ten minutes later, they were talking up the path that lead to the small porch, which had nothing on it but a bench and a few potted and hanging plants. Their house was like all the others on their street - two-story, white paint over wood paneling, green shingles on the roof matching green shutters that were used more for decoration than any real purpose, and a simple green door with a small circular window near the top. Jenny opened the door easily, finding it unlocked, and entered with Venus close on her heels. The Meowth just strolled past her, standing upright and stretching once he had gotten into the living room.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" she called, getting down on one knee beside Venus and petting her after sensing she was nervous. "Don't worry, Venus, my parents will love you. We'll be back on the road tomorrow." Venus replied with a "Bulba!" of understanding, then tiptoed into the living room and licked Meowth's face.

"HEY! Cut it out!" Meowth shouted, claws extending as Venus backed away. He climbed onto the couch, turning on the tv and flipping through the channels.

"Don't harm her." Jenny ordered, rising and entering further into the house. "Mom? Dad?" she called, going through the house. She called again, curiosity starting to override her excitement. Venus stayed in the living room, and was playing with a small ball Meowth had tossed to her. When Jenny came back in the living room, she looked worried.

"I can't find them anywhere." Jenny said, concern entering her voice.

"Eh, they probably just went into town or somethin'." Meowth blew the incident off, hopping down from his perch on the couch with a bit of difficultly. He muttered something about getting stepladders.

"There's not a note on the fridge and they knew when I'd be back. We're actually a bit late." she pointed out, heading back into her room. When she came back out, she had a poke ball and a new brown belt, which she attached the former to. "I'm going to go look for them. Don't get crumbs on the couch." Jenny informed, whistling for Venus. Venus dropped the now-deflated ball and trotted over to her, following her as she headed for the door. Meowth sighed.

"Hold it kid, I'm comin' too. If you get lost your parents'll kill me." Meowth noted, turning off the tv and strolling casually out the door. Venus went next, then Jenny, who shut and locked the door with her spare house key.


	2. Chapter 2

The trio entered the main sector of the city, looking around because they had no idea where to search first. They paid no attention to the large red "R"s on store windows, banners, and buildings, although Meowth did growl and mutter something neither of the other two could hear upon looking at the infamous Viridian City Gym. Team Rocket's symbol appeared on a great number of things after they had successfully taken over Kanto, first through politics then force, 6 years ago. Black-uniformed Rocket grunts causually lumbered past them, chatting amongst themselves as they headed into the forest.

"Where could Mom and Dad be?" Jenny asked, more to herself than to her companions. She thought for a moment, her index finger tapping restlessly against her leg. Venus suddenly started tugging on her pant leg, trying to make her go. She discovered this, then asked "What's wrong, Venus?"

"Bulb bulbasaur bulba saur!" Venus cheerfully answered, after having spit the now-wet end of the leg out of her mouth. She faced towards the wide street in front of them, not as crowded as it normally was, for this was a national holiday - the 6-year aniversary of the Rocket's conquest. Jenny looked in that direction, but didn't notice anything.

"She said 'I saw someone that looked like you'." Meowth translated, after seeing the poor young trainer's confusion. Her eyes lit up.

"Really, where?"

"Bulb, bulbasaur bulb a saur bulba." "'Well, I saw 'em going in there'." Meowth relayed as Venus pointed her head towards a small Pokemart, starting in that direction herself.

"Venus, return." She returned Venus to her pokeball, clipping it into one of the very small slots beside the other pokeball. Meowth went on all fours and trailed behind Jenny as she entered the small shop.

The Pokemart was small and simple, with blue tiled floors and white walls with a think blue stripe running horizontally through the center. A lone shopper was strolling through the few aisles of pokemon goods, strangely dressed in a trenchcoat and bowler hat despite the fine weather. He was given no attention as Jenny disappointedly looked around the store, sighing and walking up to the counter. She took a picture of her and her parents out of her pocket, slightly wrinkled and torn in one corner.

"Good morning, ma'am. How may I help you today?" The friendly clerk asked, a smile that looked oddly painted on adorning his face. Jenny held up the photo.

"Have you seen my parents? I'm looking for them, and someone said they came in here." she asked, not noticing the shopper slowly lumbering up to the counter. The clerk thought for a moment, the smile leaving his face as he sighed.

"No, I can't say I have. I'm sorry. Hope you find them, though!" He replyed, the smile returning as he finished the last sentence. He turned around and started moving around goods on the shelves behind him as the shopper came up behind Jenny, laying a firm hand on her shoulder. Jenny jumped and tried to shout, but found out she couldn't. In fact, she felt as if she had absolutely no control over her body. Meowth was oddly quiet, still on all four paws, and didn't seem to be worried at all. As the man lead them out, she saw the Hypno near the door, its gaze focused on Jenny the whole time. The Hypno followed them out behind the man, and the clerk didn't even notice.


	3. Chapter 3

The man and his Hypno lead Jenny and Meowth deeper into the city, easily passing by the seemingly uncaring citizens on the street. They then ducked into a snaking series back alleys, which seemed to recieve no light or heat from the midday sun. After many turns and backtracking, most likely to confuse the kidnapped about their wearabouts, they came to a long, low building with a flat roof. Only one of the few windows on the building was undamaged - the rest were either cracked or broken, and when the unmarred window was too grimy to see effectively through. Even with the sorry state of the windows, all were shielded with dingy grey curtains, surpringly thick from their perspective. They came to the thick wooden door of the establishment, the man stopping at it an knocking swiftly seven times. An eyeslot opened up, occupied by two dark brown eyes which looked rather haggard. The eyes seemed to brighten up after seeing the man and Hypno, but glanced down at Jenny, scrutinizing her.

"Who is the girl?" The voice was female, although she spoke in a low tone.

"Daughter of some of our old friends." The man replied, his already low voice speaking softly. After relaying this information, the eyeslot closed, and the sounds of locks beig undone could be faintly heard. The door creaked open enough for the four to slip in, yellow light pouring into the darkness. The door closed and re-locked after they were inside.

Hypno released its hold on Jenny as Meowth rose to his back legs, stetching a bit before wandering around the small room. The room itself was concrete, with grey floors, walls, and ceiling. Curtains on the solitary window were the only wall adornment, darker than the walls. An old dark red couch, scratched coffee table, a rabbit-eared tv on an end table on the other side of the room facing the couch, and an old worn-out coat rack were the only furniture, adding to the suffocatingly gloomy atmosphere.

"Sit down." The woman who addressed her was tall, with long light brown hair and the dark brown eyes she had seen earlier. She wore a dark blue tank top that clung to her curved form, khaki shorts that almost reached her knees, and dusty black hiking boots, which was the dirtiest thing on her. Jenny thought she looked about twenty-two, and later on she could be proven right. As Jenny quietly obeyed the woman, the man took off his hat and coat, and Jenny hoped he was someone she knew, or at least heard of, so that she could get some answers. He wasn't, but seemed the same age as the woman. His hair was also brown, but darker and more reddish. The overcoat had been concealing a dark green vest over a green t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and worn dark blue tennis shoes. Instead of following the woman into another thick doornear the tv, he leaned against the wall and returned Hypno. Jenny noted that the pokeball had a sticker on it.

Meowth spoke up, now standing opposite the man. "Haven't seen you all in a while. The law on your tail again?" He snickered as the man sighed. Jenny cast a startled glance at Meowth, her confusion growing by the minute.

"Just on me. The others are clean, as far as I know." The man replied, crossing his arms and looking at the ceiling. Jenny was about to ask what was going on, mainly to Meowth because she still didn't trust this odd man who apparently knew her companion, when the woman re-entered.

"Meowth, kid, you two can come in." The woman nodded at each in turn, Meowth motioning to Jenny as he headed for the open door. She hesitated, then rose and followed, hoping he knew what he was doing. The man and woman entered afterward, closing the door behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

The room they entered was much like the previous one, except slightly longer. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all concrete, with two windows - one broken, one cracked and grimy - on the right wall and one cracked on the left. As with all the windows, they were veiled with thick dark grey curtains, the main light coming from a duel-bulb light fixture in the center of the ceiling. Three dark red couches much like the one in the previous room were set around a large, low wooden tabled, which appeared to be just an old square dining table with its legs dwarved. The only other decor was a large, detailed map of Kanto and Johto, showing all the cities, mountains, rivers, and every other land feature known. Reclining on the couch was a familiar figure, tossled brown hair falling into smokey grey eyes. He sat up as they entered, his lab coat and purple shirt slightly wrinkled.

"I was wondering when those two would end up dragging you into this mess." The man looked at Meowth, who remained annoyingly calm. "Were they taken?"

"I think so, Gary. Of course, we both know I was babysittin' Jenny at the time." Meowth nodded towards Jenny, who was still in a state of shock at how her day was turning out.

Professor Gary Oak smiled at Jenny briefly. "Take a seat. It's going to be a while before you leave." Jenny now noticed that the man and woman had already sat down, the man on the left couch and the woman beside Professor Oak, and Meowth was hopping up onto the right couch with some difficulty. Helping him onto the couch, she sat down.

"Pro...Professor, what's going on?" She stammered, finding it difficult to speak all of a sudden. Her hands were folded in her lap, shaking slightly. Professor Oak sighed.

"Jennifer, your parents have been kidnapped by Team Rocket. They were members of our organization, formed after the Rockets took control over Kanto. We cannot divulge to you the other members, but all we can say is you would easily know them by name and reputation." Jenny could tell he was holding something back, and started to inquiry about it, but had no time to ask in the very short pause. "The man and woman who you met upon your arrival are Richie and Melody. Richie is a fairly unknown trainer, but was an activist in the Kanto League organization, which wanted the Rockets to relinquish their power over Kento and Johto. Melody is one of my assistants from Shamouti Island." She knew he was hiding something here; she noticed the modest gold ring on Melody's left ring finger and a gold band around the Professor's left ring finger.

"Just get on with it! We don't have all day!" Meowth said exasperatedly, rather loud by nature.

"Keep your tail on, I'm getting there." The Professor snapped back, quickly returning to his calm explanitory voice that he often used when giving lectures. "Jennifer, we need you to infiltrate Team Rocket's headquarters, find your parents, and free them."

"You want me to do WHAT?!" Jenny exclaimed, her shaking hands freezing and clentching together. Oak didn't even blink.

"I know you heard me. If you be quiet and use your head, you shouldn't even need to battle, or at least not until after your parents are free. Melody will escort you to the hideout." He ended it with that, and Melody rose. Meowth began to as well, but was stopped by Professor Oak.

"Meowth, you're not going." He informed as Jenny stood, and she looked at Meowth, who seemed furious.

"The kid needs me! She only has a Bulbasaur and an Ekans her mom got her for her birthday!" Meowth protested, halted by his next sentence as Melody lead Jenny out of the room.

"You're old, and you weren't much of a battler in your younger years." As the door shut and the two girls made their way outside, he continued. "Plus, you would be recongnized. And I know you don't want to endanger the mission, or Jennifer."


End file.
